So, uh, how’s everybody’s team faring this week? Do you have any arms left? Does your fantasy league allow you to put your 2B in as pitcher, much like the major leagues? I’m pretty sure Mookie Betts could see some mound time by the end of the month at the rate injuries are going.
There was a time in 2020ish where we had a streak of Fantasy Football profiles that posted just before crucial season-ending injuries. I feel that way with Coolwhip’s extraordinary effort on Shane Bieber, which posted mere hours before our favorite pitching sleeper announced his journey to the sterile field where his arm will be opened and filled with cyborg parts.
For more on the injury updates, see Keelin’s Fantasy Baseball Injury article, where the list of injuries will be longer than my article. FWIW, having been both an editor and a writer of the injury article, it’s a thankless and tough article to write — go send her a virtual high five for her work.
Let’s dive into players that might help your team this week. Because you might have an entire rotation that is now torched, I’m opening the field up to pitchers as well — no point in waiting three weeks if you happened to have a Strider / Bieber start to your staff.
What I Like:
Michael Conforto (OF, SFG, 64% Rostered): Got a feature in my article last week and jumped 60% in rostership. Dropped another dinger with 5 RBIs this week and has been batting fourth. He even picked up a couple walks! Conforto’s not going to to keep this up all year but he’s worth rostering in 12-team leagues and at worst hanging out on your bench, if not starting. Conforto’s a must play in deeper leagues.
Brady Singer (SP, KC, 60% Rostered): Bieber down? Get another Singer! Brady Singer was Grey and my’s (take that editor Truss!) favorite pitcher sleeper last year, and the guy underperformed so he seems like he’s persona non-gratis on teams this year. But we need to remove our biases and embrace our Bieber-like ability to bounce back. Singer’s always been buffeted by a low-key ability to throw strikes, but he’s never been an over-powering K guy. He’s that kind of pitcher who saves your fantasy team by tossing 160+ IP of 9+ K/9 work with low walks and maybe some Wins. This year? He’s got a 34% CSW rate and FIP work below 2.50 through two starts, which isn’t terribly predictable but it’s also light years ahead of the competition. Considering you can straight-up add him to your roster in 40% of leagues and a bunch of teams are losing Bieber, Singer would be my first target to rebuild your teams.
Charlie Blackmon (OF, COL, 18% Rostered): Already down in batting average? Here’s a dude with 6 games coming up this week, who’s batting first ahead of Nolan Jones and has been hitting .333 on the season. Sure, he won’t get any RBI or HR or maybe even any runs, but you’re here because your team sucks, right? We wouldn’t have this problem if you drafted Mookie Betts instead of Shane Bieber, but now we’ve gotta make up time, so let’s go to the Rockies and see if we can get high.
Connor Joe (1B/OF, PIT, 11% Rostered): The playing time isn’t entirely guaranteed, but he’s got multi-position eligibility and the ability to make contact. Hittertron hates him for the upcoming week but we’re talking about a guy who bats in the top part of a lineup and has been getting on base at a .429 clip with 4 Runs and 4 RBIs over the past week. He makes contact and that’s all you want out of a dart throw.
Alec Marsh (SP, KC, 3% Rostered): He’s pitching after I write this article, so let’s see how my predictions do! Guy with 10+ K/9 in the minors gets a cup of coffee early in the season. He’s not replacing Spencer Strider, but we’re talking available dart throws, so give it a shot.
Jose Quintana (SP, NYM, 40% Rostered): Lifelong streamer faces the Pirates later this week. Need a rebound while you recover from Bieber? Quintana will get you through the week at least.
Kevin Gausman (SP, TOR, 100% Rostered): Got a manager who is selling low? Buy, buy, buy! Sure there are signs of worry — velocity down, swinging strike rate down, blah blah blah. His xFIP is also half of his current ERA, which means he’s simply “bad” rather than “atrocious.” We’re talking about one of the most reliable SP over the past few years, and if you can get him at 70-80% value from a worried manager, I take that.
I’m the Problem — It’s Me
Oswaldo Cabrera (OF/3B, NYY, 50% Rostered): Impressive bat control for a rookie in a high-stress playing situation. But after a blistering start, he’s watching too many pitches pass him by, and his batting average has tanked. D.J. LeMahieu is working his way back and isn’t too close to a return, but it does announce the coming end of Cabrera’s cup of coffee. I’m not saying drop, but I am saying — the signs are all there to move on.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand (1B, CIN, 100% Rostered): 5 for 36 to start the season and zero walks. But actually hitting a fair amount of line drives and a 12% barrel rate with a launch angle of 16 degrees. I dunno — what do you think? The K rate screams “demotion incoming” but the hard hit rate says “buy low!” Generally speaking, 30%+ K rate and .286 SLG with a busy roster means “demotion”, and I would be looking for a backup if you’ve been using CES as your primary 1B.
Spencer Torkelson (1B, DET, 100% Rostered): This is why I don’t like dynasty baseball all that much. How many of y’all traded entire teams for Tork, when you could have just taken Connor Joe off the wire? I kid, I kid (< things I have to say because sarcasm on the internet is hard). JKJ came up to me with a quandry this week — he had been posed with a situation where Tork was available in a league, and the manager wanted to spend 50% of their FAAB to snag Tork. Maybe if it’s a dynasty league, sure. But for you redraft mavens…Tork just isn’t putting in the torque to play right now. K rate manageable, which is good, but his anemic SLG rate and 0% barrel rate (you read that right!) means he’s effectively a pitcher in the batter’s box. Remember those days? Tork has the pedigree and team investment to stay in the majors and work out his slow start, but your fantasy team doesn’t have to wait for that. Move Tork to the bench while he figures himself out, and start somebody else.
As our esteemed colleague Jolt pointed out last week, yes it is I that have been topping the RazzSlam charts to start the season. And, much like y’all, I’ll need to figure out what to do now that Shane Bieber is done for the season. The long-term solution is probably not on this list. That’s just the way of things. It takes time for players to situate into their roles and allow their performances to stabilize. Don’t overreact to your fast starts or slow starts. They are merely starts, and 90% of the season is still ahead of us. Good luck all!
EDITOR’S NOTE: Speaking of Razzslam, don’t forget the first FAAB of the season is Tuesday night at 10 PM ET!
